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Sermons:
Independence Day Sermon (USA):
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Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
by Rev. Randy Quinn
Wolves are invariably portrayed as evil in folklore. They are not nice.
They are to be feared. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about “Peter
and the Wolf” or “Little Red Riding Hood” or “The Three Little Pigs”.
Whenever we read about wolves, they are the enemy.
(That isn’t necessarily true in Native American culture, however. I
suspect that’s because Native Americans didn’t raise sheep.)
But the “Big Bad Wolf” in Western culture is almost always a metaphor
for the fears we have. In some stories, the “Big Bad Wolf” is really the
fear of darkness. In others it’s the fear of failure or the fear of
death or the fear of loneliness.
The Big Bad Wolf is symbolic of the things we fear. And we all have
fears. I don’t know what your fears are, but I do know some of mine. One
way to help identify your fears is to ask the question a friend of mine
asked when he was meeting people in the church where he was appointed.
He asked, “What keeps you awake at night?” What are the dreams and fears
that make your heart race and your palms sweat?
That’s your Big Bad Wolf.
I can’t remember the last time I had the dream, but I had a variation of
the same dream throughout much of my time in college and seminary and
well beyond. The dream was the sudden realization that I had a final
exam in a class I had not attended since the first day of school. I
couldn’t remember what building it was in. Or I couldn’t remember which
room it was in. One time I couldn’t remember the combination to my
locker that had my assignment in it.
I always woke up in a panic.
Those dreams reveal rather clearly that my Big Bad Wolf was the same as
the one in “The Three Little Pigs,” the fear of failure due to lack of
proper preparation.
That’s still my fear today. I know that because I still have dreams in
which I find myself preaching to a church while I’m still wearing my
pajamas. Or I dream I’m running so late that I can’t find my Bible. Or
I’m the guest speaker and someone reads a scripture that I didn’t know I
was supposed to use in my sermon.
It was in the middle of one of those dreams once that the fire whistle
blew. As a Volunteer Firefighter, I jumped out of bed and raced to the
fire station. As we were leaving the station, someone made a comment
about getting ready for work and I realized it wasn’t Sunday morning – I
was so relieved to realize I had three more days to finish my sermon
that I laughed out loud!
Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? I am. And if you allow yourself to ask
that question seriously, I believe you are too. We all are.
The Big Bad Wolf is Big and Bad. And he is hungry. We meet him and see
his big teeth showing. We have every reason to be afraid of the Big Bad
Wolf, whatever it is that he represents in your life.
Fortunately, in the folklore of our culture the Big Bad Wolf is always
conquered. He is defeated by the hero. And as we face our own fears, we
realize that we become the heroes who outsmart the wolf and become
victorious.
But more often, we are looking for someone else to save us. We take that
image with us when we read the scriptures and are grateful for the image
of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who protects us from the Big Bad Wolf.
We like the image in the 23rd Psalm of the Lord as our Shepherd who
leads us beside still waters, who restores our souls (Ps 23:2). We find
comfort in the midst of the Big Bad Wolves and the “darkest of valleys”
because the Shepherd is with us (Ps 23:4).
When the Big Bad Wolf huffs and puffs, we know we are safe because Jesus
is the rock who protects us (Ps 62:2 and others).
But in our text today, Jesus sends the “lambs into the midst of wolves”
(Lk 10:3). Not only that, they are not allowed to bring anything along
with them to defeat the wolves – no money, no food, no clothing. They
are going to their sure and certain death!
What kind of a shepherd is that?!
It’s one thing for the shepherd to lead us through a valley where there
may be wolves lurking, but what kind of a shepherd sends the sheep into
the midst of hungry wolves where they have no means of protection?
I mean, it may be appropriate to send someone out to show what they can
do. In fact, sometimes it’s important to do. [continue]
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